New One - 1st Timer :)

Welcome Natalie, you will love it here, and the advice is free so ask away. Chances are someone will have the answer for you. Don't be shy or bashful.

Awesome! Welcome to board! Do you have any details settled yet?

We're all kids at heart, too! Congrats on your upcoming trip, Natalie. I can't wait to hear what you have planned.

Any ideas of where you're staying or what things you're hoping to do?

Welcome Natalie! This is a great place and loads of information available. If you can't find it here, someone can tell you were you can. My DW and I have been going without kids for years now and its great. Its the only place we go on vacation.

Hi Natalie and hubby! Welcome to the boards! This place is full of VERY nice folks who are extremely knowledgeable. Looking forward to chatting with you about planning (that's one of the best parts of the trip!)

Hi Natalie! Welcome!

We can definitely help. Planning is what we all do really, really well

Regarding hotel, I think the Contemporary idea is a good one for convenience and view. The Contemporary is the ONLY hotel from which you can walk to the Magic Kingdom, and the monorail is nice after a long day. I actually prefer the Bay Lake view to the Magic Kingdom view, so I would suggest going with that. There are also "garden wing" rooms at the Contemporary that are cheaper than the rooms in the big A-Frame tower building. That's a possibility, too. This web page has a good comparison of Tower Rooms vs. Garden Wing rooms at the Contemporary. The resort HAS been criticized for feeling too much like a regular hotel vs. a "Disney" hotel, because the theme is indeterminate. It feels like a snazzy, big city hotel, whereas other Disney hotels are focused on specific themes.

Another suggestion would be to look into the Epcot Resorts: Beach Club, Yacht Club, and Boardwalk. These are sometimes cheaper than the monorail resorts, and are the only other resorts in Disney World that enable you to walk to a park. In this case, you can walk to both Epcot and Disney's Hollywood Studios. Although we love staying in the Contemporary, the Epcot resorts are always a draw as well.

Finally, consider the Wilderness Lodge. It's cheaper than the monorail resorts and the Epcot resorts, has very pretty views, definitely feels like a Disney resort vs. a Marriott, and offers a relaxing boat ride to the Magic Kingdom.

No matter where you stay, consider renting a car. We find that it saves us LOTS of time and headache when it comes to travel throughout the parks and resorts. Also, when you break down how much you're paying per day and the time you're saving getting between parks and resorts, it's worth it.

Question: how long will you be staying? I'm asking, because if you're staying longer than 10 days or so, you might consider buying an annual pass in order to get some resort discounts.

Welcome, Natalie! I think you'll like these boards. It's a great group of people.

Natalie -- we love the Wilderness Lodge and can also comment on the Polynesian if that's still on the list.

We haven't done the meal plans, but it does seem to be a good value (as long as you're able to eat a LOT), and can make things easier -- no bills to pay. The cons I've heard about it are that you have to keep track of what points you're using and how many you have left.

Also, you can make dining reservations 6 months in advance these days, and you can do that online or over the phone. Might be a good idea to consider making those earlier than later. Lots to think about, but we can help you think through all of it!

Hi Natalie. Well I'll tell you one thing. We love the Poly! We are DVC members and our home resort is SSR. That's great too! But if the one thing your looking for in your room is a king size bed, as far as I know, at the Poly, the only room that has one is the Honeymoon suite. That's what we have been told, and we have asked numerous times. If any one else knows different, please let me know!

Good point! You can't get a king bed at the contemporary without paying extra either. But you CAN get a king at Beach/Yacht/Boardwalk without paying extra. It's not guaranteed, but you can request it.

Hi Natalie!

Welcome to the friendliest Disney site on the Web! I'm in New Jersey, and judging by my screen name, am a bit of a foodie (although I am a meat and potatoes man).

I have stayed 53 nights in eight different WDW on-property resorts during my seven solo visits between 2000 and 2007. Because I cannot drive, I don't rent a car, instead riding Disney Transit all over the resort. Renting a car is definitely recommended, particularly if you want to venture outside of WDW.

Of the resorts mentioned in this thread, I have stayed in Beach Club (2006) and in Wilderness Lodge (2005). While Beach Club, in the Epcot resort cluster, is within walking distance of both Disney Hollywood Studios and Epcot, they are less expensive than the monorail resorts, which are good choices if you'll spend a lot of time at the Magic Kingdom.

Because of its "Welcome Home!" ambiance, though, I think my favorite resort is Wilderness Lodge. While you cannot walk to a park from it (but I believe you can walk between it and Fort Wilderness using a trail behind WL), you can take a boat between WL and Magic Kingdom. I know that a king bed is in the first-floor, handicapped-accessible, "courtyard-view" Room 1132 near the pool (for that is the room in which I stayed) but I do not know if they exist elsewhere in the resort. I'm fine as long as I don't have to sleep on a bare floor.

Welcome!

Jim

Welcome aboard Natalie!

My thoughts on the Contemporary:

I don't know that MK view is worth the extra money over Bay Lake, but Tower is DEFINITELY worth it over Garden Wing. We've got quite a contingent here who feel that watching the fireworks is better from the Poly than the Contemporary, because the Contemp is off to the side and messes with the angles on the fireworks.

We stayed at the Contemporary theme park view for our honeymoon and it was amazing! There is something about looking out your window and seeing the castle that was so special!

The rooms are pretty nice too. The convenience factor was teh best though - a walk to MK, monorail to Epcot, and really reliable buses (at least when we were there) to the other parks and Downtown Disney.

That said, I would LOVE to stay at the Poly for the theme!

caitiesus, the view from the Poly is amazing, we had a beach front view at the poly a few trips ago. I loved just opening the curtain and there as the MK ! We watched the fireworks from our room a few nights and it was amazing! I could say it was pretty much a post card view every night. I think thats one trip I will never forget. I'll post some pics once they upload. The ones I had were to small to see.

Looking forward to our stay at the Poly someday

Natalie, here are some of the pics fromthe room we had at the Poly in 2008



When you go out on the pation, this was our view,
GF was on the left.

MK center (zoomed in a little)


Good view of Space Mountain!


Contemporary on the right, BLT being built.

Great photos, MrHub! I think I'd really like the ground floor room and the easy walk to the Grand Floridian. I never realized how close the two resorts were. Did you ever head over there for a meal?